Welcome back New York Yankee Fans!
The 2014 Baseball season is right around the corner and we have all waited patiently for the National Pastime to once again kick off. There may be ice and snow covering the streets of the Bronx and New York City, but today is a beautiful day for Yankee fans, as the team is set to officially kick off Spring Training down in sunny Tampa, Florida.
In the midst of their off-season shopping spree that saw the Yankees splurge a combined $471 Million, there are still a number of questions surrounding the ball club as April Fools approaches.
As you all should know by now, the face of the New York Yankees and perhaps even the MLB- the Captain Derek Jeter- is set to retire after the 2014 season. The 2013 season was a nightmare for the iconic shortstop, who only played in a whopping 17 games after coming off a fractured ankle suffered in the post-season of the previous year. One question surrounding the 2014 season is whether or not Derek Jeter can stay healthy in his final year on the field. Though he has worked tremendously hard to re-hab through the winter, it's tough to overlook the fact that he's turning the young age of 40 years old on June 26th right in the middle of this season. In the unfortunate event that Jeter goes down to injury yet again, who will the Yankees replace him with? You have the infield magician Brendan Ryan with his gold glove caliber defense and a below average bat or Eduardo Nunez who batted .260 with three HR's and 28 RBI's in 2013 but failed to improve on his nightmare-esque fielding ability. Personally I'd like to see the Yankees go out and sign free-agent SS Stephen Drew who helped the Red Sox to a World Series title in 2013 and batted .253 with 13 homers and 67 RBI's to a multi-year deal and be a temporary fix at SS once Jeter retires, but Hal Steinbrenner has put a halt to the Yankees spending spree after the signing of free-agent pitcher Masahiro Tanaka.
The losses of many key Yankee players of the recent past may impact this years team tremendously. Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer to ever play the game (Don't tell Goose Gossage that), is retired. Andy Pettitte, the work horse and one of the most consistent and reliable starting pitchers to ever don a pinstripe uniform, is retired. Curtis Granderson, who accounted for 115 home runs and 307 RBI's for the New York Yankees over the past four years, is gone after agreeing to deal with the subway series' rival New York Mets. Robinson Cano, who figured to be the new face of the New York Yankees after rising through the Yankees farm system as a teenager and reaching super star status is gone after agreeing to a record setting deal for second baseman with the Seattle Mariners.
Thus, it's no secret that upon entering spring training, the Yankees infield is unsettling to say the least. At the moment, Brian Roberts, who hasn't played a full season since his all-star season in 2009 with the Baltimore Orioles is expected to be the full-time second baseman this year in the Bronx. Kelly Johnson, almost a mere representation of Brendan Ryan with a superb glove and a suspect bat, is set to man the third base corner of the infield for the suspended Alex Rodriguez. And how will the $180 Million Dollar Man Mark Teixeira fare at first base after hitting .151 in just 15 games before being forced to miss the entire 2013 season after suffering a torn tendon in the 2013 World Baseball Classic? I guess only time will tell.
But enough of the bad news!
I'm positive the 2014 New York Yankees can still win 95 + games and get back into the playoff picture where they belong. After all, it would be an absolute sin for the Yankees to miss the playoffs in Derek Jeter's final season as a Bronx Bomber!
Brian Cashman and co. have worked diligently to put a winning team on the field in 2014 and expect nothing less than an World Series Title in 2014. It may have costed almost half a billion dollars to do so, but it was the right thing to do for Derek Jeter, the fans, and the future of the New York Yankees.
To say the new Yankees outfield is outstanding would be an understatement. The new additions of Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran alongside the in-house outfielders such as Brett Gardner, Alfonso Soriano, and Ichiro Suzuki gives the Yankees outfield a mix of speed, power, and versatility. Carlos Beltran will add veteran leadership to the club house and carries one of the most clutch bats in recent playoff history. Get to October and Carlos Beltran is a player that any team in baseball would love to have batting third in their lineup. Ellsbury and Gardner can potentially cover a whole outfield alone and will wreak havoc on the base path for the Yankees all year. I'm predicting 75-80 combined stolen bases for the two speedsters. Alfonso Soriano has found the fountain of youth as soon as he was traded back to the Yankees in 2013 and his power will be relied upon heavily this year for success of the Yankees.
Let's not forget that the Yankees upgraded tremendously behind the dish by adding free-agent All-Star Catcher Brian McCann. McCann's offensive numbers are expected to sky rocket with the short porch in Yankee stadium and his veteran leadership and will-to-win mentality will only benefit the grooming of J.R. Murphy, Gary Sanchez, and Austin Romine along with the young pitchers on the staff like Tanaka, Pineda, Nova, and Betances.
Speaking of the pitching staff, the starting rotation has a few stones left unturned as well. How will the 2013 free-agent prized possession Masahiro Tanaka adjust to pitching in the MLB with a bigger baseball, a different baseball mound, and much stronger hitters? Will the trimmed down C.C. Sabathia return to ace form? What Hiroki Kuroda will the Yankees see; the dismal pre August pitcher or the stud who nearly pitched the Yankees back into the playoffs down the 2013 stretch? Who will fill the back end of the Yankees rotation?
With some below average bats scattered in the Yankees lineup, starting pitching is the key to a successful year in the Bronx. Both Sabathia and Kuroda will need to perform up to par in order to take the pressure off of Tanaka, especially early on in the season. Ivan Nova pitched some big time ball games last season including three complete games and two shutouts and will look to continue his success in 2014. Following Ivan Nova is a healthy competition between Vidal Nuno, David Phelps, Adam Warren, and the mystery man himself- Michael Pineda, all pitchers with tremendous upside competing for the fifth and final spot in the Yankees rotation throughout the spring. The best case scenario is that Michael Pineda proves true to form upon returning from injury, locks up the fifth spot in the rotation, and once again becomes considered one of the best young arms in all of baseball... but that's just wishful thinking.
The bullpen comes with their share of questions as well. David 'Houdini' Robertson has been appointed the role of closer and we all know he has about a size 42 shoe to fill. It's obvious fans won't expect Robertson to fill every inch of that shoe, but if he can control his walk ratio and locate his pitches including his devastating curve ball, Robertson will be a quality closer. Now, the million dollar bullpen question remains to be who will be Roberston's 8th inning set-up man? For now that spot is up for grabs but in my opinion it'll come down to either Shawn Kelly or free-agent signee Matt Thornton, who the Yankees pried away from the Chicago White Sox this offseason. Though Shawn Kelly seemed a bit fatigued at the end of last year and Matt Thornton had previous arm trouble, both are capable of dealing some pretty electric stuff. Don't rule out Manny Banuelos or Dellin Betances of the 'Killer B's' who are both rumored to be competing for a Yankees bullpen role as well.
The 2014 New York Yankees are full of promise, but equally as many questions. Non the less one thing is for certain; in 2013 we saw the curtain close on the brilliant careers of two Yankee greats in Mariano Rivera and Andrew Eugene Pettitte... in 2014, we will see the curtain close on the ambassador of baseball and the iconic 'Number 2, Derek Jeter, Number 2.'
As always, it'll be interesting to see how the 2014 Yankees unfold out of training camp and what their lineup will look like in the chase for 28.
Here is my projected opening day 25 man roster for the New York Yankees on April 1st when they visit the Houston Astros.
Lineup Player Position
1 Ellsbury CF
2 Jeter SS
3 Beltran RF
4 McCann C
5 Teixeira 1B
6 Soriano DH
7 Gardner RF
8 Johnson 3B
9 Roberts 2B
Bench:
Suzuki OF
Ryan INF
Nunez INF
Cervelli C
Romine C
Starting Rotation:
1. C.C. Sabathia
2. Hiroki Kurda
3. Masahiro Tanaka
4. Ivan Nova
5. Michael Pineda
Bullpen:
David Robertson (Closer)
Matt Thornton (Set-up Man)
Shawn Kelly
David Phelps
Dellin Betances
Adam Warren
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